's Most Recent Stories

First it lost co-anchor Charlie Gibson. Now ABC’s “Good Morning America” is losing another linchpin of its recent success: executive producer Ben Sherwood.

Sherwood told staff on Friday that he’s resigning his post, effective Oct. 1, and moving his family to Los Angeles to be closer to his ailing mother.

The departure complicates matters at “GMA,” which lost Gibson to “World News Tonight” in May and was just starting the delicate process of finding the right personality to join co-anchors Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts.

In a memo to staff, Sherwood said he would remain engaged in that transition process as the show girds to compete with NBC’s top-ranked “Today,” which lost Katie Couric to CBS but gained Meredith Vieira as Matt Lauer’s morning partner for the fall.

Related

“We all know the morning TV battle enters a whole new era in September,” Sherwood said. “Indeed, we’re making big plans for the summer and fall season ahead. I plan to lead the fight through the summer with everything I’ve got, and I’ll work closely with my successor and the whole team for a smooth transition in the fall.”

ABC is looking at male candidates within the network to replace Gibson, including Bill Weir, Chris Cuomo and Bill Ritter, who will take on greater roles within the show through the summer.

Gibson’s departure broke apart a partnership with Sawyer that brought “GMA” within 40,000 viewers of “Today” in spring 2005. At the end of May sweeps, that gap stood at 810,000 viewers.

ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said Sawyer is under contract through 2007 and has committed to the immediate future to the show.

ABC News execs insisted Sherwood’s decision to leave was his own. He’s leaving behind a seven-figure salary, they said, and that professional opportunities within the ABC-Disney family would be available to him on the West Coast.

“Nothing would make us happier than to have Ben continue to be a part of ‘GMA,’ ” Schneider said, adding that ABC News president David Westin “made it clear to Ben there will always be a place at ABC News.”

Sign Up for Daily Insider Newsletter

Leslie Moonves was known to take an active dislike of David Letterman making fun of him during that host’s tenure on CBS’ “The Late Show.” He probably isn’t enjoying being mentioned by Stephen Colbert either. Colbert used his monologue on Tuesday’s broadcast to poke fun at the former CBS Corp. CEO, who yesterday learned that [...]

A movie version of crime series “Luther” is moving forward, with writer-creator Neil Cross working on the script, the show’s star Idris Elba confirmed at the launch of Season 5 in London. “We are really advancing on getting a movie version [of the show] up on the screen,” Elba said. “Neil is beavering away on [...]

In today’s roundup, NBC reveals midseason premiere dates for six shows, including “The Voice.” DATES NBC has announced midseason premiere dates for four returning and two new series. “The Voice” will air Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, Feb. 26 at 8 p.m., and March 5 at 8 p.m. It will return April 23 at 8 [...]

She was a natural comedian — fearless and funny, willing to trade on her natural Bronx brogue to craft a sassy and street-wise character that was tailor-made for sitcoms. But Penny Marshall, who died Monday night at the age of 75, proved throughout her long career that she had so much more in the way [...]

At CBS News, President David Rhodes has a series of important decisions to make that could affect the trajectories of some of TV’s best-known news programs. As its parent company seeks to move forward from recent seismic events – the ouster of its former CEO, Leslie Moonves; a corporate probe into its workplace culture; and [...]

Industry organizations and major companies in Europe and Hollywood welcomed Tuesday a high-level European Union agreement that in large part preserves producers’ ability to sell movies and TV shows on an exclusive territory-by-territory basis. Territorial licensing is a financial backbone of the film and TV business in Europe. Recognition of such licensing came last Thursday in [...]

In a competitive situation, Bravo is developing a new version of “Queer as Folk,” Variety has learned exclusively. Russell T. Davies, the creator of the original UK series, is onboard the new project as an executive producer. Stephen Dunn is attached to write, direct, and executive produce. Nicola Shindler of Red Productions, who executive produced the [...]